Verbal abuse, often overpowered by its physical counterpart, carries a greatly insidious nature due to its ability to inflict long-lasting psychological scars.
Quotes about verbal abuse bring out the profound effect that words can have on your self-esteem, mental health, and general well-being. These expressions sums up the pain, the silent suffering, and the hidden wounds inflicted by toxic words.
Through understanding these quotes, you gain insights into the experiences of those who weather verbal abuse and the frequently underestimated power of language in shaping your interaction and relationship.
Top Verbal Abuse Quotes
“Words can be like baseball bats when used maliciously.” – Sidney Madwed
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will also hurt me. Stones and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me.” – Sandra Kring
“Verbal abuse is still abuse. It’s abuse in the form of words. Don’t assume that a few hurtful words won’t cost them their life. Words hurt.” – Unknown
“The scars you can’t see are the hardest to heal.” – Astrid Alauda
“A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.” – Rev Run
“Verbal abuse is a way of attacking or negatively defining another person using words—or silence—as a weapon.” – Patricia Evans
“It is often easier to become outraged by injustice half a world away than by oppression and discrimination half a block from home.” – Carl T. Rowan
“Just because the scars have healed, doesn’t mean that the pain has.” – Unknown
“Sometimes just a little compliment can make someone’s entire day.” – Unknown
“I am slowly learning that some people are not good for me, no matter how much I love them.” – Michelle K
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Verbal Abuse Quotes on Recognizing Abuse
“Survivors of verbal abuse carry the words, the voice that refuses to be silenced, in their heads.” – Patricia Evans
“A bruise heals, but you don’t forget words that once hurt you.” – Unknown
“Just because there are no bruises doesn’t mean it’s not abuse. Verbal abuse is the erosion of the soul.” – Unknown
“Do not engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed person.” – Unknown
“The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” – Edmund Burke
“Verbal abuse is the use of negative defining words that are used to control another human being.” – Patricia Evans
“The tongue like a sharp knife… Kills without drawing blood.” – Buddha
“Never underestimate the power of words to heal and reconcile relationships.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
“Watch out for the joy-stealers: gossip, criticism, complaining, faultfinding, and a negative, judgmental attitude.” – Joyce Meyer
“People have to pretend you’re a bad person so they don’t feel guilty about the things they did to you.” – Unknown
Inspirational Verbal Abuse Quotes
“Don’t let someone who did you wrong make you think there’s something wrong with you. You can be a victim of verbal abuse, no matter how intelligent or kind you are.” – Michelle Obama
“You survived the abuse. You’re going to survive the recovery.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Empower yourself: when someone is verbally abusive, simply write it down. Document what they say, as the abuser is less powerful when you keep a record.” – Brené Brown
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Choose to speak from a heart of love.” – Maya Angelou
“Let today be the day you stop being haunted by the ghost of yesterday. Holding a grudge & harboring anger/resentment is poison to the soul.” – Deepak Chopra
“Stand up for yourself and others who cannot. You have the power to stop verbal abuse and ensure that it does not thrive around you.” – Desmond Tutu
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Healing from the scars of verbal abuse begins with recognizing its presence. Acknowledge it, name it, and you can fight it.” – Patricia Evans
“The moment someone tells you that you’re not good enough is the moment you know you’re better than them.” – Rupi Kaur
Verbal Abuse Quotes on Healing
“Healing from verbal abuse isn’t easy, but it starts with hearing your own voice, louder than the words of your abuser.” – Patricia Evans
“Part of the healing process is sharing with other people who care.” – Jerry Cantrell
“The scars you can’t see are the hardest to heal.” – Astrid Alauda
“Forgiving isn’t something you do for someone else. It’s something you do for yourself. It’s saying, ‘You’re not important enough to have a stranglehold on me.'” – Mitch Albom
“Words can be twisted into any shape. Promises can be made to lull the heart and seduce the soul. In the final analysis, words mean nothing. It’s the healing that counts.” – Haruki Murakami
“Sometimes the most healing thing to do is remind ourselves over and over and over: Other people’s behavior is about them, not us.” – Cheryl Strayed
“It is not the bruises on the body that hurt. It is the wounds of the heart and the scars on the mind.” – Aisha Mirza
“A critical component of healing from verbal abuse is understanding that you are not to blame for someone else’s harmful actions.” – Lundy Bancroft
“Recovery begins from the darkest moment.” – John Major
“When the words you speak about yourself become kinder and more compassionate, healing flows.” – Yung Pueblo
Verbal Abuse Quotes on Relationships
“A healthy relationship will never require you to sacrifice your friends, your dreams, or your dignity.” – Dinkar Kalotra
“The death of one’s self-respect can occur very quickly in relationships where your identity is constantly being demeaned, degraded, and demolished.” – Kevin Heath
“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair.” – Yehuda Berg
“Love does not abuse. Love should feel like love. It should feel supportive and safe.” – Caitlin Roper
“The moment that you start to wonder if you deserve better, you do.” – Maureen Joyce Connolly
“Mental abuse is much more painful than physical abuse because you are consumed by your own thoughts.” – Erin Cummings
“Sometimes it’s better to end something and try to start something new than imprison yourself in hoping for the impossible.” – Karen Salmansohn
“Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar.” – Samuel Griswold Goodrich
“Abuse changes your life… Fight Back and change the life of your abusers by Breaking Your Silence on Abuse!” – Patty Rase Hopson
“I am slowly learning that some people are not good for me, no matter how much I love them.” – Steve Maraboli
Verbal Abuse Quotes from Survivors
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” – Carl Jung
“Survivors of verbal abuse are not victims; they are warriors.” – Brooke Axtell
“Speaking out is the hardest thing, but the most crucial step in healing.” – Annette Oltmans
“The recognition of the abuse, and the acknowledgment by others of its harm, is what truly helps survivors heal.” – Beverly Engel
“You survived the abuse. You’re going to survive the recovery.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Overcoming abuse doesn’t just happen, It takes positive steps everyday. Let today be the day you start to move forward.” – Assunta Harris
“Abuse manipulates and twists a child’s natural sense of trust and love. Her innocent feelings are belittled or mocked and she learns to ignore her feelings.” – Laura Davis
“I am a strong woman who has overcome adversity, not a victim.” – Philomena Kwao
“Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.” – Akshay Dubey
“It was when I started reading my own story, rather than just living it, that I grew stronger.” – Jessica Stern
Verbal Abuse Quotes on the Impact of Words
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will also hurt me. Scars heal, bruises fade, but the pain of hurtful words endures.” – Unknown
“The tongue like a sharp knife… Kills without drawing blood.” – Buddha
“Verbal abuse is still abuse. It’s abuse in the form of words. Don’t assume that a few hurtful words won’t cost them their life. Words hurt.” – Unknown
“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair.” – Yehuda Berg
“Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten.” – Unknown
“Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.” – Yehuda Berg
“A tongue has no bones but it can break a heart.” – Unknown
“Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well.” – Robin Sharma
“With words you can influence someone into thinking something is true when it is false.” – Frederick Douglass
“The words of the tongue should have three gatekeepers: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?” – Arab Proverb
Verbal Abuse Quotes on Resilience
“No matter how badly people treat you, never drop down to their level, just know you’re better and walk away.” – Unknown
“You survived the abuse. You’re going to survive the recovery.” – Unknown
“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up.” – Mary Holloway
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J.K. Rowling
“The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” – C.C. Scott
“Sometimes you don’t realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness.” – Susan Gale
“Resilience is not about how you endure. It is about how you recharge.” – Hara Estroff Marano
Verbal Abuse Quotes on Self-Worth
“Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are.” – Beyoncé
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” – Steve Jobs
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” – Maya Angelou
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein
“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” – Carl Jung
“A lot of the conflict you have in your life exists simply because you’re not living in alignment; you are not being true to yourself.” – Steve Maraboli
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” – Carl Jung
“To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.” – Denis Waitley
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Verbal Abuse Quotes on Breaking the Cycle
“Breaking the cycle of abuse is not easy, but it is necessary if we want to create a healthier environment for ourselves and for future generations.” – Lundy Bancroft
“The only way to break the cycle of domestic violence is to take action—the sooner the better.” – Tim Murphy
“It is important to know how to rise from the pain, transformed and free.” – Nikki Rowe
“Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.” – Maya Angelou
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” – Maya Angelou
“The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other.” – Jane Blaustone
“Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you. It’s you who can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” – Deepak Chopra
“What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.” – Abraham Maslow
“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” – Brené Brown
Verbal Abuse Quotes on Awareness and Education
“The first step towards change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” – Nathaniel Branden
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
“Abuse grows from attitudes and values, not feelings. The roots are ownership, the trunk is entitlement, and the branches are control.” – Lundy Bancroft
“Awareness without action is worthless.” – Phil McGraw
“The key to change… is to let go of fear.” – Rosanne Cash
“Increasing awareness and education about verbal abuse cuts at the root of the problem.” – Patricia Evans
“To recognize one’s own insanity is, of course, the arising of sanity, the beginning of healing and transcendence.” – Eckhart Tolle
“It’s not the bruises on the body that hurt. It is the wounds of the heart and the scars on the mind.” – Aisha Mirza
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke
Verbal Abuse Quotes on Support Systems
“No one heals themselves by wounding another.” – Unknown
“In the darkest times, it’s often your support system that shines the brightest.” – Karen Salmansohn
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts
“True friends are those rare people who come to find you in dark places and lead you back to the light.” – Steve Maraboli
“Support from others can be the key to recognizing the patterns of abuse and taking the steps necessary to begin healing.” – Beverly Engel
“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” – Elbert Hubbard
“Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone’s hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours.” – Vera Nazarian
“Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.” – Akshay Dubey
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde
“A good support system is like a safe harbor in a never-ending storm.” – Jennifer Arnold
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Final Thoughts
The compilation of verbal abuse quotes serves as a poignant reminder of the negative effects that words can wield. They teach you the significance of communication infused with respect and kindness and the need for awareness in how you express yourself.
As you reflect on these quotes, commit to promoting positive interactions and offering support to those who might be suffering in silence. Encouraging strength and providing resources for recovery are vital steps in healing the hidden yet deep wounds caused by verbal abuse.
Through boosted understanding and empathy, you can help mitigate the effect of abusive words and promote a more humane society.